Pneumatic dispatch systems

ABSTRACT

The forward of leading end of a sliding carrier has an openmouth for the insertion and removal of articles carried. A closure for said mouth mounts the riding head.

Unite States Patent Woll [451 Apr. 11, 1972 54 PNEUMATIC DISPATCH SYSTEMS 686,680 11/1901 PealSall ..243/35 4, 1 65 R 72 Inventor: Toni W611, 12912 NE. 30111 Street, Bel- 2x3 8235, 1evue,WaSh-98004 3,188,018 6/1965 Van Otteren ..243/3s 13 97 I [22] Flled Apr l 0 Primary Examiner-Joseph Wegbreit [21] Appl. No.: 27,617 Assistant Examiner-Bruce H. Stoner, Jr.

Attorney-Ford E. Smith [52] US. Cl ..243/35, 220/35 57 ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl ..B65g 51/06 The forward of leadlng end of a shdmg carrier has an openof Search 39, mouth for the insertion and removal of articles carried. A c o sure for said mouth mounts the riding head. [56] References Cited 1 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTS 769,263 8/1905 Stoddard ..243/ 39 Patented April 11, 1972 3,655,16

| I 6+." 11 LLQJJ I NVENT OR. 7040 W014 D BYWQDPJDEQMITH BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. The field of this invention is end-opening, sliding carriers for use in pneumatic dispatch systems.

2. In the prior art of end-opening carriers, it appears to have been a universal practice to provide access to the carrier interior at or through the trailing end. It has been observed that, as systems have become larger and the loads heavier, or the carriers have been caused to travel faster, the carriers and particularly their closures have been subjected to terrific impact forces with the result that the closure devices, particularly those located at the trailing end, are often irreparably damaged long before the useful life of the carrier body has passed.

It has also been observed that closure damage at the trailing end is appreciably increased in systems involving switching mechanisms no doubt due to the carriers slamming throughthe intricacies of switch gear. Further, it has been a common complaint that rear-loading carriers are extremely difficult to empty of their contents when the latter are bulky and are rolled to facilitate insertion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The leading end of a tubular carrier body has an openmouth which is closed by a closure member which is hinged to the body at one side, and is latched oppositely in the closed position. The closure member mounts the riding head which shields and protects the hinge and latch means as well as functions as a piston in the pneumatic movement of the carrier in the system. By this invention, the useful life of the carrier and its closure is prolonged, lessened damage to carrier contents is possible, and discharge of the contents of the carrier is facilitated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS end of the carrier; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-section on line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The tubular body 10 has a trailing end 12 and a leading end. The trailing end is closed by a bottom integral with body 10. Bottom is inwardly cupped as shown in FIG. 1. It is desireable that the closed end of body 10 be rugged and structurally designed to stand up under the substantial forces to which it is subject during use. Rear riding head 18 is smoothly chamferred and encircles body 10, being mounted between annular shoulders 20 and 22. Head 18 is in the trailing position and may be formed of leather or rubber-leather compositions or other materials suitable to slide on and be guided by the interior of a tube 24 of a pneumatic dispatch system.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the leading end of body 10 is openmouthed. Collar 26 encircles the end of tube 10. An inward directed flange 28 caps the edge of the tube. Collar 26 is secured to tube 10 by adhesive or other suitable means. Cup 30 fits over the end of collar 26 and closes the carrier. Air disc or gasket 32 and lead riding heat 34 superposed thereon are secured to the web of cup 30 by screws 36 which are by their treads anchored in the fibrous material of which head 34 is composed. Note that the diameter of the head 34 exceeds substantially the diameter of cup 30 and that air disc 32 extends outward beyond head 34. Disc 32 functions as a seal in system tube 24 when the carrier is being transported.

The lip of cup 30 is cut at an angle to an axis normal to the web of the cup whereby at one side the cup wall 38 is shallow and opposite wall 49js relatively deeper. The an lar cut of the lip of cup 30 facilitates opening and closing the carrier. Wall 38 includes boss 42 having hinge ears 44 that depend in overlapping relation to collar 26. Leaf spring 46 secured to collar 26 at 47 has a hinge loop 48 interposed between ears 44. Hinge pin 50 passes through the assembly. When cup 30 is swung to open the carrier, ears 44 rock on the outer surface of collar 26 and tend to move the hinge pin 50 outward away from the collar. The flexing of spring 46 permits this movement. When the cup 30 has been swung fully open, the ends of ears 44 come to rest on the surface of collar 26 and function as a detent to hold the closure means in the open position. The ends of ears 44 are arcuately shaped on a radius A shown in FIG. 2 substantially the same as the radius of collar 26.

Cup 30 in wall 40 has a hole 41 which is engaged by and receives latch boss 52 mounted on leaf spring 520 anchored at 56 and mounted in a recess 54 between body 10 at its mouth, and collar 26. Button 56 on spring 52a extends through hole 58 and is accessible for manual pressure to be applied to disengage latch 52 from hole 41.

It is to be observed that the hinge and latch means described are perforce compact and relatively small. The placement of these components at the leading end of the carrier places them directly behind the lead riding head 34, and also behind the air disc 32. Both elements shield and protect the hinge and latch mechanisms by reason of their larger overall diameters, their rugged natures, and their shock absorbing characteristics.

A carrier according to this invention receives articles, usually rolled papers, at the leading end. When the papers to be carried are numerous or stiff, upon insertion they unroll or expand rather tightly into the carrier interior. When the carrier, having travelled through the system, arrives at its destination, the contents will be found readily accessible at the leading end of the carrier for easy removal. This is due to the tendency of the contents to press forward within the carrier as the latter slams to a stop at the end of its travel. By locating the closure means at the leading end, the trailing end can be formed very rugged and strong so that it is not easily damaged when struck by following carriers whose closure means are similarly shielded and protected as described.

In addition to the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment in accord with the requirements of the patent law, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variations and modifications will suggest themselves. All such as fall within the spirit and scope of the subjoined claims are intended to be covered by this patent.

What is claimed is:

l. A carrier for use in a pneumatic tube system, comprising:

a tubular carrier body having an open-mouth leading end for the insertion and removal of objects to be carried;

a cup-shaped closure member fitting over and fully enclosing the leading end of the carrier body, said closure member being joined to said body by hinge means located at one side of the mouth, the axis of said hinge means comprising a pin disposed transversely of the axis of said body at the rear edge of said closure member;

a resilient leaf supporting said pin and extending rearwardly therefrom, said leaf being secured to said body in flexural relation thereto;

said hinge means including detent means located so that upon movement of said closure member the same bears upon said body and displaces said pin axis outward to flex said resilient leaf whereupon to hold said closure member in the fully open position;

latch means between said body and said closure member located opposite said hinge means; and

a riding head secured to the front of said closure member, said riding head extending laterally outward in front of said body and being of a size to protectively overhang said hinge and latch means. 

1. A carrier for use in a pneumatic tube system, comprising: a tubular carrier body having an open-mouth leading end for the insertion and removal of objects to be carried; a cup-shaped closure member fitting over and fully enclosing the leading end of the carrier body, said closure member being joined to said body by hinge means located at one side of the mouth, the axis of said hinge means comprising a pin disposed transversely of the axis of said body at the rear edge of said closure member; a resilient leaf supporting said pin and extending rearwardly therefrom, said leaf being secured to said body in flexural relation thereto; said hinge means including detent means located so that upon movement of said closure member the same bears upon said body and diSplaces said pin axis outward to flex said resilient leaf whereupon to hold said closure member in the fully open position; latch means between said body and said closure member located opposite said hinge means; and a riding head secured to the front of said closure member, said riding head extending laterally outward in front of said body and being of a size to protectively overhang said hinge and latch means. 